EU and Japan discuss “Sanctions Enforcement at Sea”

• On the occasion of the port call at Tokyo by two German Navy ships: Frigate "Baden-Württemberg" and Supply Ship "Frankfurt-am-Main", a roundtable on sanctions enforcement at sea was organised by the Delegation of the European Union (EU) to Japan and the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Japan, with support from the EU project, Enhancing Security Cooperation In and With Asia (ESIWA).
• Diplomats, military personnel, and experts from the EU and Japan engaged in a peer-to-peer exchange on the political, legal and operational aspects of sanctions enforcement at sea.

Diplomats, military personnel and experts from the European Union (EU) and Japan convened in Tokyo to discuss "Sanctions Enforcement at Sea".

On the occasion of the port call at Tokyo by two German Navy ships: the Frigate "Baden-Württemberg" and Supply Ship "Frankfurt-am-Main", a roundtable on sanctions enforcement at sea was organised on 21 August by the EU Delegation to Japan and the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Japan, with support from the EU project, Enhancing Security Cooperation In and With Asia (ESIWA).

The roundtable included speakers representing Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Defense, the European External Action Service, the EU Naval Force Mediterranean Operation Irini (which contributes to enforcing the UN embargo on the transfers of arms to Libya in the Mediterranean Sea), the German Embassy in Japan, the German Navy and the French Navy (Liaison Officer to the Yokosuka-based Enforcement Coordination Cell of the Pacific Security Maritime Exchange).

The event gathered some 50 participants from the EU and Japan involved in sanctions enforcement, including from relevant Japanese institutions, the diplomatic corps as well as research centres and the private sector.

Background information:

The German Frigate "Baden-Württemberg" and the Supply Ship "Frankfurt-am-Main" are making a port call to Tokyo from 20 to 25 August 2024 as part of an seven-month deployment to the Indo-Pacific.

During this deployment, the ships will conduct naval exercises with the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force and perform a mission as part of the Pacific Security Maritime Exchange (PSMX) to assist in the maritime enforcement of international sanctions against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. These sanctions enforcement operations are coordinated by the Enforcement Coordination Cell (ECC) based in Yokosuka, Japan.

Both the EU and Japan are committed to the enforcement at sea of sanctions based on UNSC resolutions. Japan is an active contributor to the PSMX and the ECC. Beyond the contribution of its Member States to specific mechanisms (such as the PSMX and the ECC), the EU also conducts military operations at its level, under the EU Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). The EU has launched the naval operation EU NAVFOR MED Irini in the Mediterranean, the task of which is the implementation of the UN arms embargo on Libya.

Both the EU and Japan also support the Global Centre for Maritime Sanctions Implementation established in Malta in May 2024, both politically as well as through funding the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

About the EU's ESIWA project:

The ESIWA project works to enhance the EU's security and defence cooperation with the Indo-Pacific in four thematic areas: counterterrorism and preventing violent extremism, crisis management, cyber security and maritime security. The project is co-funded by the EU, the German Federal Foreign Office and the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs. ESIWA is co-implemented by the German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ), and by Expertise France.

ESIWA's activities in maritime security aim to support the EU's agenda in the Indo-Pacific as a smart security enabler.

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.